Johnstone Burgh up and running with friendly draw against Premiership side Troon

Burgh up and running with draw against Prem side Troon

JOHNSTONE BURGH

McKim reckons his Burgh side should have scored a couple against the Seasiders

Johnstone Burgh boss Jamie McKim insists his side must find a clinical edge after opening their pre-season fixtures with a 0-0 draw against West Region Premiership side Troon at Keanie Park on Saturday.

Sitting three divisions higher than the Burgh, Troon were firm favourites to see off the West Region League Two side but McKim’s men dominated for the most part with the gaffer adamant his side deserved to take the scalp.

“I’ve had a few people saying we should be happy with it but to be honest we should have won the game,” McKim told Gazette Sport. “We created a number of chances in the first-half so really it wasn’t a great result when you consider that - if we were clinical then we would have won the game by at least a few goals.

“Having said all that, you can’t read too much into it as it was just a friendly. It was a draw with a Premiership side but in terms of the result, it could have been better.

“I spoke to the boys after the game and to be fair to them, we’ve not really worked on shape or anything like that. We’ve focused on the fitness side of things and we’ve worked on a few technical things. I wasn’t criticising them at all, it was a good performance and we got what we were looking for from a friendly in terms of minutes in the legs and some sharpness - the only thing that was missing was the goals.

“There wasn’t a standout on Saturday, it was just a really good team display that maybe lacked that clinical edge. It’s solid foundations to build on, there’s nothing to get too excited about right now.”

With 13 new arrivals checking in at Keanie Park throughout the close season, McKim was keen to use the Troon friendly as a opportunity for his new-look side to settle in.

And the outing gave McKim exactly what he was after with the boss revealing the mood in the dressing room is as good as ever at Keanie.

“There has been a big turnaround but they have all gelled in really well to be honest,” McKim said. “There is a really good team spirit around the place right now, I’m happy with that. It’s a good dressing room at the moment which can only be a good thing for us going forward.

“On the park and off the park, it’s looking good at the minute and we’re happy with where we are.

“A strong dressing room right now can only be a good thing as the players will bond even more as they get to know each other more.

“I’ve warned them about what happened last year and not to get ahead of ourselves. We need to maintain a high standard every single week so it is just early days.”

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